Man tells of radiation fear for family

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A mechanic has told how two of his children played for weeks in contaminated mud from the Ranger uranium mine, exposing them to an "unacceptable" level of radiation.

Devon Baker, 40, who has also been exposed to radiation, said his son Brendan, 5, and daughter Jamie-Lee, 8, built sandcastles in the mud and carried it around in tins.

"I'm not that worried about myself," he told The Age this week after the release of a report into breaches of regulations at Ranger, Australia's largest uranium mine, in Kakadu National Park. "It's the kids. What about when they have kids? Who can assure me they won't be affected?"

The report, by Arthur Johnston, the Commonwealth-appointed scientist responsible for monitoring Ranger, said an investigation had found that at least three vehicles contaminated with leached uranium ore were brought off the mine site without being properly cleaned.

One of the vehicles, an excavator, was brought to a repair yard in Jabiru, the mining and tourist town that services Kakadu, where Mr Baker was working and living in a portable home with his wife, Brenda, and three children.

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When Mr Baker was working on the machine, more than 120 litres of "hot" mud fell out, the investigation found.

For 44 days, piles of it sat under a carport where the Bakers' two youngest children played.

The report said: "Whilst playing under the carport, the children discovered the pile of grey mud from the Bobcat and played with it, for example, building sandcastles, putting it in tins, carrying it around."

Mr Baker and his children have not been medically tested after their exposure. But he has since lost his job and suffered serious health problems, including chronic depression.

The children have shown no symptoms of exposure.

Dr Johnston made an assessment, after analysing samples of the mud, that Mr Baker and his children received about one millisievert of radiation, which is approximately equal to the maximum permitted dose of radiation for members of the public over an entire year. Dr Johnston said a dose of this level "does not present a significant health risk".

But the family's exposure was unacceptable, and decontamination procedures at the mine were inadequate, he said.

Energy Resources Australia, the company operating Ranger, closed the mine temporarily this week after receiving an ultimatum from the Federal Government to fix problems within two weeks or be forced to close permanently. ERA has apologised for breaches of regulations at the mine.